The essay component asks students to write in response to an essay
assignment, or prompt, which they must address in order to receive
a score. These prompts are carefully selected to enable students to
react and respond quickly in a variety of ways. They are written to
be easily accessible to the general test-taking popula¬tion, including
students for whom English is a second language (ESL), and to be free
of figurative, technical or specific literary references. The prompts
are meant to be relevant to a wide range of fields and interests -
literature, the arts, sports, politics, technology and science, history,
and current events -not narrowly related to specific topics. The essay
assignment does not draw on specialized knowledge in any particular
area or on any specific course material. Rather, it gives
students the opportunity to use a broad range of experiences, learning,
and ideas to support their points of view on the issue addressed.
Because the prompt asks them to address a specific issue, students
will not be able to prepare an essay in advance that will effectively
address the essay assignment.

The prompt will consist of either a pair of quotations or a short
paragraph (no more than 80 words in total length) adapted from some
authentic text. These prompts will outline a wide range of possible
viewpoints within a single issue and are designed to stimulate critical
reflection. Following the prompt is an assignment that focuses the
student on the issues addressed in the quotations or paragraph. Students
should take 5 minutes to plan and organize their response to the assignment
and then write their essay in the remaining 20 minutes.

The following is an SAT practice essay prompt involving
a pair of quotations.

ESSAY PROMPT

Think carefully about the issue presented in the following quotations
and the assignment below.

1. While secrecy can be destructive, some of it is
indispensable in human lives. Some control over secrecy and openness
is needed in order to protect identity. Such control may be needed
to guard privacy, intimacy, and friendship.

Adapted from Sissela Bok, "The Need for Secrecy"

2. Secrecy and a free, democratic government, President
Harry Truman once said, don't mix. An open exchange of information
is vital to the kind of informed dtizenry essential to healthy democracy.

Editorial "Overzealous Secrecy Threatens Democracy"

Assignment: Do people need to keep secrets or is
secrecy harmful? Plan and write an essay in which you develop your
point of view on this issue. Support your position with reasoning
and examples taken from your reading, studies, experience, or observations.

SCORING GUIDE

SCORE OF 6
An essay in this category is outstanding, demonstrating clear and
consistent mastery,
although it may have a few minor errors. A typical essay

SCORE OF 5
An essay in this category is effective, demonstrating reasanably cansistent
mastery, although it will have occasional errors or lapses in quality.
A typical essay

SCORE OF 4
An essay in this category is competent, demonstrating adequate mastery,
although it will have lapses in quality. A typical essay

• effectively and insightfully develops a point of view on the
issue and demonstrates outstanding critical thinking, using clearly
appropriate
examples, reasons, and other evidence to support its position

• effectively develops a point of view on the issue and
demonstrates strong critical thinking, generally using appropriate examples,
reasons, and other evidence to support its position

• develops a point of view on the issue and demonstrates
competent critical thinking, using adequate examples, reasons, and other
evidence
to support its position

• is well organized and clearly focused, demonstrating clear
coherence and smooth
progression of ideas

• is well organized and focused, demonstrating
coherence and progression of ideas

• is generally organized and focused, demonstrating some
coherence and progression
of ideas

• exhibits skillful use of language, using a varied,
accurate, and apt vocabulary

• exhibits facility in the use of language, using appropriate
vocabulary

• exhibits adequate but inconsistent facility in the use
of language, using generally appropriate
vocabulary

• demonstrates meaningful variety in sentence structure

• demonstrates variety in sentence structure

• demonstrates some variety in sentence structure

• is free of most errors in grammar, usage, and mechanics

• is generally free of most errors in grammar, usage, and
mechanics

• has some errors in grammar, usage, and mechanics

SCORE OF 3
An essay in this category is inadequate, but demonstrates developing
mastery, and is marked by ONE OR MORE of the following weaknesses:

SCORE OF 2
An essay in this category is seriously limited, demonstrating little
mastery, and is flawed by ONE OR MORE of the following weaknesses:

SCORE OF 1
An essay in this category is fundamentally lacking,
demonstrating very little or na mastery, and is severely flawed by ONE
OR MORE of the following weaknesses:

• develops a point of view on the issue, demonstrating
some critical thinking, but may
do so inconsistently or use inadequate examples, reasons, or other evidence
to support its position

• develops a point of view on the issue that is vague or
seriously limited, demonstrating weak critical thinking, providing inappropriate
or insufficient examples, reasons, or other
evidence to support its position

• develops no viable point of view on the issue, or provides
little or no evidence to support
its position

• is limited in its organization or focus, or may demonstrate
some lapses in coherence or
progression of ideas

• is poorly organized and/or focused, or demonstrates serious
problems with coherence or progression of ideas

• is disorganized or unfocused, resulting in a disjointed
or incoherent essay

• displays developing facility in the use of language,
but sometimes uses weak vocabulary or inappropriate word choice

• displays very little facility in the use of language,
using very limited vocabulary or
incorrect word choice

• displays fundamental errors in vocabulary

• lacks variety or demonstrates problems in
sentence structure

• demonstrates frequent problems in sentence structure

• demonstrates severe flaws in sentence structure

• contains an accumulation of errors in grammar, usage,
and mechanics

• contains errors in grammar, usage, and mechanics so serious
that meaning is somewhat obscured